Missing Link: Copernicus program - how Europe watches over the world
The Copernicus Emergency Management System monitors the world to detect hazards and help assess the situation in the event of a disaster.
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With the Copernicus earth observation program, Europe has the whole world in view. "Europe's Eyes on Earth" collect 25 terabytes of data from various sources every day. Some of this data is analyzed using AI technology and not only provides a view of the environment and climate, but also registers changes caused by the presence and activities of the Earth's inhabitants and monitors them over time. After all, if you want to protect the population, you need to know where and to what extent they live and what is happening in their environment.
The importance of this can be seen in a report published by the EU Commission in March, which warned of a "highly probable" increase in "extreme weather events and threats to people's lives and livelihoods" due to climate change. In addition, there are "growing risks to European society" due to a "deteriorating global security situation and the parallel emergence of other threats and shocks, such as health hazards and hybrid threats, earthquakes and disruptions to critical infrastructure."
Disaster risk management in a global context
The Copernicus Emergency Management System(CEMS) has been in use as a Copernicus service since 2012 and consists of a warning and mapping service. The system provides information for prevention and risk minimization, response and reconstruction in the event of a disaster or crisis. The data can help with the monitoring of (impending) disasters, the identification of damage and the coordination of search, rescue and relief measures. Areas of application can be found at national, regional and global level. In May, for example, a CEMS mapping service was activated at the request of Iran to support the search and rescue mission following the helicopter crash of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
In its Copernicus strategy in 2017, the German government noted the great importance of the program for "central, national policies". Germany has the ambition and responsibility to "assume a leading role in the implementation of the program within the EU, ESA and other participating institutions". To this end, the Federal Republic had "helped to develop the objectives of the program from the outset" and was itself pursuing the goal of "benefiting as much as possible from Copernicus" for strategic reasons. The program provides "the EU, its member states and other program participants with a unique global information base and a special starting position for cooperation". To further increase the "performance and impact of Copernicus", "non-European data and services should also be integrated in a meaningful way." This applies in particular to necessary data from the Earth's surface and from outside Europe.
The EU is also using CEMS to further consolidate Europe's role as a "global leader". CEMS services are made available to other countries free of charge. Data from CEMS can be used for hazard prevention and preparedness. However, it can also form the basis for political decisions or be used to support government measures. The data is not only used to save lives, but also to protect the (financial) assets of countries.
A"High-level brochure for high-ranking decision-makers" gives the following examples of how CEMS can be used in emergency situations: "Floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, severe storms, fires, industrial accidents (e.g. explosions, oil spills), volcanic eruptions and humanitarian crises" (e.g. to monitor refugee camps).
The warning service for various emergencies
The warning and monitoring system is designed to detect signs of impending disasters or indications of an event in real time, around the clock and without interruption. The service is designed to detect dangers in advance and provide data for forecasting future events and their potential impact.
The early warning systems that benefit from this include the European Flood Awareness System(EFAS), the European Forest Fire Information System(EFFIS) and the European Drought Observatory(EDO). There are also links to the Global Flood Awareness Systems (GloFAS), the Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS), the Global Drought Observatory (GDO) and the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS).
If the CEMS detects an (impending) disaster, the Emergency Response Coordination Center (ERCC) alerts the relevant (national) authorities about the situation and provides support in coordinating further measures and gathering information.
The ERCC publishes a daily ECHO in the form of a report and a map on significant events in Europe and the world.
CEMS provides data access for mapping, flood monitoring, forest fires and drought. Daily analysis and forecasts related to atmospheric monitoring, air quality and fire monitoring can be accessed on the dedicated website.
No connection to the Galileo warning system yet
A CEMS message can also be the basis for cell broadcast warnings. Cell Broadcast is triggered via the Galileo EWS warning system. However, although CEMS and the Galileo satellites are both part of the Copernicus program, there is currently no connection between them. This means that the warning is currently sent by the ERCC to the national authority responsible for disaster management, but this authority itself must then ensure that the Galileo Emergency Warning Satellite Service(EWSS) is activated.
If, on the other hand, a national authority has itself detected a disaster and initiated an EWSS warning message to the population, it must still take care of the activation of rapid mapping separately if the ERCC has not yet noticed anything on its own. In Germany, the requirements for CEMS and EWSS are handled by the Joint Reporting and Situation Center (GMLZ) at the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK).
The EU now wants to drive forward the missing link between CEMS and EWSS with the AWARE project and enable automated responses.
